Buddy and Sophie are two year old whippets. They came from the same
litter which makes them brother and sister.

Buddy is mostly white with brown spots and weighs 43 pounds. His sister
Sophie is all black with a little white on her
chest and tail.
She weighs in at 25 pounds.

Their fur is very short and feels silky smooth to the touch.

Whippets are known for their great speed and similar body type to a
Greyhound but much smaller.

Their hobbies include, sniffing the ground for food, licking your face
one hundred times a day and being a couch potato.

Their parents have a vacation home in Costa Rica which they visit often
but hate leaving Buddy and Sophie behind.

Although Buddy and Sophie love to spend time in the local dog park
their parents have decided they are well behaved
enough to go on a much bigger adventure.

Costa Rica is a small country located in Central America which is south
of Mexico. It’s a tropical place filled with lots
of sun, coconuts, exotic flowers, beaches and volcanoes.

It has more animals than any other country ten times it’s size.

Their adventure begins now.
Who will they meet, what will happen ?
Turn the page and you will see !

===============================================================

Today is the day of Buddy and Sophie’s great adventure to Costa Rica!
The alarm sounded at 6 am,
just before the sun began to smile. They had to finish packing and get
to the airport for a 9:00 am
flight. After checking for their passports, dog papers and plane
tickets they were finally on the
way to the airport. Buddy and Sophie were very excited but also very
nervous, this was their first
trip in an airplane. Their mom and dad assured them they would be fine
and maybe even make some
friends on board.

“ Here we are in the baggage compartment,” said Sophie “not exactly
first class is it?” Buddy
replied , “It’s not so bad, we have our favorite blankets and
squeaky toys.”

“ Hey look!” Sophie said with excitement.“There’s a bull dog in the
next crate.”

“ Sure I can.” said Chester. “I will even introduce you to some of my
amigos in the rain forest.
You will meet lots of animals you have never seen before.”

“ Oh thank you so much!” said Sophie. “We can’t wait to meet all your
friends, I mean amigos!” The
plane finally landed and before they new it Buddy and Sophie
were frolicking around in their
backyard. It was a tropical paradise! There were hummingbirds
filling up on hibiscus flowers and
the sun was brightly reflecting off of their great big pool.
Their Mom calls out from the kitchen
window.“ You can play in the yard all day but when the sun sets
I want you both inside the house
for dinner. I am planning a special meal for our first night in
Costa Rica! You understand ?”
Buddy and Sophie started giggling as they tried out their first
word in Spanish. “Comprendo
mama!” As Buddy and Sophie were playing in the yard they came
upon a funny looking animal. Sophie
said in Spanish, “Hola, buenos dias.”

“ Hello, and a good day to you! said Pedro . “You must be the whippets
Chester met on the
airplane.”

“ Si, that’s us!” said Sophie. “But who are you? You are a funny
looking perro.”

“ Perro? Pardon me but I am no dog!” said Pedro. “And if your going to
speak Spanish you must
always roll your R’s !” Buddy and Sophie rolled their tongues
off the roof of their mouth and
said perro.

“ Excellente!” said Pedro. “I am an Iguana, you have never seen one
before?”

“ No, we don’t have animals like you living in New York.” said Buddy.

“ Well, Chester is waiting to introduce you to all his friends. Lets
go!” said Pedro

“ Vamanos” said Buddy, “But just get us home before the sun sets, mama
is making a special dinner
to celebrate our first night in Costa Rica.” Pedro replied, No
problema, vamanos! So off they
went into the rain forrest.

“ Here we are in the Curu National Park.” explained Pedro. There is mi
amiga Michelle. She is a
Scarlet Macaw, isn’t she beautiful!” Michelle called out,“Hola
perros, buenos dias.” Sophie
replied, “Mi Espanol no es buena.” Michelle said, “That’s Ok,
Chester the bulldog has taught us
all English. He spends 6 months here and 6 months in New York,
he’s a snow dog!”

“ Have you seen Chester?” said Pedro.

“ Si, he passed here looking for guanabana. { gwa-na-bana )” said
Michelle. Buddy repeated,
“Guanaba - huh? What’s that?” Michelle exclaimed, “It’s the most
delicious green fruit you will
ever taste! Chester wanted to get some for his new friends.

“ Wow! That must be us!” exclaimed Sophie. “Can you take us to him!”
Michelle replied, “Si, you
whippets are very fast but can you keep up with me?” Sophie
said, “We can try but I am not so
sure about Pedro. Buddy replied, “Don’t worry I will give Pedro
a ride on my back. Hop on!
Vamanos everyone!” They ran and ran through the rain forrest
following Michelle high in the
sky.... but they could not find Chester. They stopped for a
while to feed on some nuts and water
when they heard a strange screaming from the top of the trees.

“ What is that horrible noise?” said Sophie.

“ Those are the Howler monkeys.” said Michelle. “They have the loudest
voices in the rain forest.
You can hear them up to three miles away. Suddenly they were
face to face with a monkey hanging
from a tree.

“ Un momento, Que pasa?” said Hank the Howler monkey. ”

“ What’s happening?” repeated Pedro. “We are looking for our friend
Chester. Have you seen him?”

“ Si one hour ago, he was looking for guanabana. He went towards la
playa” said Hank.

“ Oh the beach, thank you Hank. Sorry if we bothered you.” said Pedro

“ No problemo, any amigo of Chester’s is an amigo of mine. Good luck!”
As they continued on their
way to find Chester and this strange fruit, they came upon a
magnificent waterfall. They were
splashing around in the water having a great time. The water was
cool and their new friends were
a lot of fun, but they knew it was getting late and they had to
find Chester. As they emerged
from the water and gave a quick shake they heard something
slither, oh my gosh it’s a snake !

“ SS.... Hey who do you think you are getting me all wet?”said the
snake.

“ Who are you?” said Buddy.

“ Me llmo Carlo, I am a Boa Constrictor and I eat small animals for
dinner. Mmm... that Iguana sure
looks good. Buddy growls and says, “You can’t eat Pedro he is mi
amigo. We are just passing
through looking for Chester the bull dog.”

“ You are friends of Chester? Well that is different. Any amigo of
Chester’s is an amigo of mine.
You may go on your way, I will not harm you.” said Carlo.

“ Gracias.” said Buddy. But we can’t find Chester do you know where he
is?”

“ No,” said Carlo, “but I will keep a look out for him. You better go,
I am getting awful hungry
SSSS....” They continued to search for Chester. The further they
walked the more tired and
worried they became. As their pace slowed down, they realized
there was someone else walking with
them. Sophie turned to see who it was and said,“Hola, I am
Sophie, who are you?”

“ Soy.... Ricardo.... a ....three... toed... sloth.”

“ A what? said Sophie. “Why do you speak so slowly? And do you eat
small animals for dinner too?

“ Ohhh... so many questions, I move slowly, I speak slowly and I only
eat fruit and leaves. I come
down from my tree... once a week.. to make.. a # 2.”

“ Ok Ok, that’s enough information.” said Sophie. “We are looking for
our friend Chester, have you
seen him?”

“ Si,Si, He went... toward la playa, it’s not.... much ..further.”

“ Gracias.” said Sophie. “We are going to hurry now, maybe will see you
later, Hasta luego!
Maybe.... you will... Goodbye, Adios... They finally saw that
white sandy beach leading into the
most beautiful aqua colored ocean. They called and called out
Chester’s name, still no one
answered. Buddy thought he heard a small yelp. He wondered over
behind the bushes and there was
Chester buried up to his neck in all that green fruit.

“ Chester, Chester what happened to you?” said Buddy.

“ I came here for guanabana to welcome you and Sophie , when I shook
the tree they all came down
and buried me. Can you get me out please?”

“ No problemo!” said Buddy Buddy howled out loudly, “Chester is over
here, come help!” They all
jumped on top of the pile and started eating the guanabana one
by one. Wow! This fruit really is
delicious!” said Sophie.

“ Hey.... did you... save.. some.. fruit for me? No body ever waits for
me. “Wow! your tummy’s are
really big.” said Ricardo. Pedro let out a huge burp. “Excusa mi
!” said Pedro. “Sorry Ricardo,
we had to eat all the gunabana, Chester was buried and we had to
get him free !.”

“ Oh my goodness!” said Sophie. “Look at the sun! We have to get home
Buddy, come on lets run!”

“ I can not run,” said Buddy, “my tummy is too full.”

“ But we have to get home.” said Sophie. “Mom and dad will kill you.”
“Me?” said Buddy, “what about
you?” Michelle Cried in, “Oh stop your bickering and let me
think.” Humm.. my bird brain tells
me..... Chester got us into this mess, let him think of
something! Si, Si, it is true.” said
Chester. “If you didn’t have to search for me you would be home
by now.”

“ It’s Ok Chester, you were just trying to do something nice for us”
said Sophie.

“ Yes.” said Buddy “it’s really our fault, we knew we should be home by
now.”

“ No, It’s really mine.” said Pedro,“I promised to get you home for
your special dinner.” Michele
and Ricardo looked at each other and said, “Not our fault,
nobody told us about a special
dinner.”

“ It’s nobody’s fault, we just have to think of a way to get them
home.” said Chester. Once again
they heard that loud scream. Hank the howler monkey was swooping
in from branch to branch. That
gave Chester a brilliant idea!

“ I ‘ve got it!” said Chester. As Hank swooped down in front of him.

“ I am so glad to see you Hank, can you help me get mi amigos home?”

“ Sure I will Chester my old friend, but how can I help?” said Hank
Chester asked with excitement,
“Who has the loudest voices in the rain forest?” Everyone
shouted out at once, “The Howler
monkeys!”

“ Si, excellente!” said Chester. “If you call out to the sea turtles
with their great size and
speed they will get you home in minutes! Hank let out a howling
scream. In seconds five huge
leatherback sea turtles surfed up onto the beach. Everyone
cheered ! One by one they jumped onto
a turtle’s back, except for Sophie who was still standing on the
beach. Back in New York at Jones
Beach ocean, she got tumbled by a wave and never went in the
ocean again.

“ Come on Sophie, it will be Ok.” said Buddy.

“ No, I will walk home.” Sophie said sadly. “Tell them I am on my way.”
Buddy sighed and said,
”Sorry Chester, it was a good Idea but I can’t leave my sister,
I will walk too.”

“ Un momento.” said Hank. “Don’t worry about Sophie. You go on, I
promise I will get her home
safely.” The turtles took off and they all waved goodbye. Hank
scooped up Sophie and disappeared
high into the tree tops. Swooping as fast as he could from tree
to tree until the end of the
forest.

“ This is as far as I go.” said Hank. “Lena and Juan will take you the
rest of the way.” He sent
out a scream and in a couple of seconds two birds came soaring
in.

“ Who are they?” said Sophie.

“ They are King Vultures, they can fly you home in dos minutos. Isn’t
that great!” said Hank

“ Vultures?.... ah won’t they eat me? Maybe I should have gone by
ocean. I am feeling a little
dizzy.” said Sophie.

“ Well don’t faint, If they think your muerto ( dead ) they will eat
you! Just kidding! They will
take you home, I promise.” said Hank.

“ Ok,” said Sophie, “but I am still scared.” Lena and Juan picked up
Sophie by her scruff and took
off into the sky. Have a nice flight! called out Hank. In two
minutes Sophie could see her house
and everyone was in the yard, including her mom and dad. Lena
and Juan soared in gracefully and
dropped Sophie off.

“ Wow! Did you see me fly through the sky?” said Sophie. “Oh, hi mom
and dad, sorry I am late.”

“ Don't worry Sophie.” said her Dad. ‘Your friends and Buddy explained
what happened and
apologized.”

“ We were very worried about you both and are glad you are safe but
tomorrow you can not leave the
backyard. Comprende?” said Mom. Buddy and Sophie said sadly,
“Comprendo mama.”

“ We are also very impressed with your new friends. Any one who takes
such good care of our dogs
must stay for dinner and play in the pool. How does that sound
?” said Mom and Dad. They all
started cheering and thanked Buddy and Sophie’s mom and dad for
being so understanding. Buddy and
Sophie were finally resting comfortably in their bed. They were
exhausted from their most
adventurous day ever ! Hey Buddy? I No we got in a little
trouble today but It was the best day
in my life! I will remember it forever. Buddy yawns and says,
“Me too, I love our new friends and
I love Costa Rica.